Airplane landing field



NOV. 10, 1931. H Q BELLEWLLE `,83,978l

AIRPLANE LANDlNG FIELD Filed Nov. 11. 1929 A TTORNEYS.

Patented Nov. Vl0, 1931 HARRYCLATON BELLEVILLE, -or .oAxLAmigcALrFoRN-Ia i AIRPLANE LANDING lFIELD4 1 'application med November 11, 1929. "seria1'Naaoa44`5- .My invention relatesto improvements in airplane 'landing fields, and it'consists 1n the combinations, constructions and arrangements vhereinafter described and claimed.

5 An object of-my'invention is to providean airplane landing field that is buoyant and anchored to the Vground or other suitable object by a cable that Imay be Wound or un- Wou'nd from 'a drum `for raising; orwlowering the landing field. The field is preferably circular in shape and hasa slightcrown effect which will cause airplanes to tend .to run upivardly toward the top of the crown kWhen landing upon Athe field, andin this Way the ,planes will be quickly brought to a stop.- .A further object of my invention is to-provide a novel vane that will lalways cause 'fthe entrance ofthe fieldto Jhead away from r the 30 wind so that planes in landing may tlv into the lWind and stilll enter the field at the "entrance thereof. V i VrIlhe buoyant part ofthe device resembles an inverted cone, and the cable that secures the `device against floating away permits it to move with thefplfane Whenthe plane lands,

and this will permit the plane `to `come to lan almost immediat-e stop. upon landing, any movement of the plane after `landing causing the eld to move therewith.

I provide a landing field that is supported by air, and this `field protects the lgas bags disposed therebeneath. y

VOther objects and advantages Will appear as the specification proceeds, and the novel features of the device Wil-l be particularly n `pointed out ingthe claims hereto annexed.

My invention is illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which:

ia Figure 1V isa perspective vievvl of -the'device,

Figure 2 is a top plan ,view7 and Figure 3 1s a transverse sectlon through the device.

i5 In carrying out my invention I provide a landing field indicated generally atY 1 that is preferably circular in shape. A circumference of three hundred feet will provi de a lande ing field of suicient size kto accommodate an w airplane. The field 1 is preferably formed of fair is pumped l:into thep'ole through the pipe .14 .by any -m'eansn'ot shown, thepole will he to 4thenetting` 7near therrim of thexield ,1

canvas 2, and this canvasfhas a top and a bottom forformi-ngan air pocket 3. rcable 4 in the shape of va circle holds the yfield in the y proper shape, and flexible'strands 5 v(see -Fi'gy. ure-3) connect the top 'and bottom of the can- `55 vas bag l2- so asto limit the upwardmovement ofthe top of the bag.l The strands provide -a crown effect to the fliel'd for a purpose hereinafter described., Any means not shown Y may be used for pumping air into the -balg12 "60 vfor keeping fthe field substantially rigid and lat `the same time have Aenough give -to' it to permit an airplaneto land With very little arring. f

Beneath the lfield -1 I dispose laplurality of 65 gas bags 6. These .are Apreferably provided with square tops that bear against the underside ofthe canvas bagj2.` A suitable .net` ting 7 (see Figure 1) encloses the -gas'ba'gs .an-.dis secured to the rim' of the lfieldso as to "'70V provide a cone-shapedstructure: i `.The vnetting 7 carries'a ring I8 atyits apex, "and this ring is secured to 'av'cablev 9y that extends `dovvn to a drum 10. The cable 9 may Ebe'wound.. 'i1pon-orun1svound fromthe drum'lO by vi'neans oi an electric motor 11 orfother suitable mech,-

.a-nism.` f i .I provide novel .means for r`'causing' the len-- trance to the fieldl 1 to' always head away Y from the wind so that planes in 4'entering the *so Vfield rcan .pass'through the entrance and at the same time head` into the AWind. This means comprises a telescoping boom pole 12 that is .hinged 'at 13 adjacent t'o the .apex of the buoyant device. An Jair :pipe 14 lcommunicates With the interior ofthe 'hollow boom pole, yand the joints of the various lsecti'onsiare `so arranged ask tofmake 4them :air-tight structure. The ends of the :boom :polevare closed. When elongated. ,The reverse is true. when airis .sucke'doutof the pole. Y y

'Tivo triangularlyshaped pieces (if-canvas l v1.5 vand 16 'or uother' suitable .material are secured lto theboom -pole 12 by rings 17 that ir turn are attached to the'pi'eces. 15 and 16. The tops ofthe pieces l-andl are attached as shown in Figulreslban'd.. 4The edgesi'S l1.'00

of the pieces 15 and 16 may be secured to the netting 7 and extend down to the ring 8.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood.

rlhe lwind is blowing from the left in Figure 1, and the strips 15 and 16 act as vanes for always causing the boom 12 to head away from the wind. rlhe entrance X of the field 1 is disposed above the boom 12, and it will therefore be seen that a shifting of the wind will shift the vanes 15 and 16 and will like# wise swing the entrance X so as to face away from the wind. In this way, an airplane Y may head into the wind when landing upon the field. Y I

The plane in landing` will start Vto move up toward the top of the crown of the field. The entire field will also move with the plane to a certain extent, and this will permit the plane to come to a quickerV stop with respect to the field. The strips 15 and 16 will cause the field to incline slightly so as to offer a greater climbing angle for the landing plane. AThe canvas pieces 15 and 16 have enough give to them to permit the boom 12 to be swung about its pivot a slight distance by means of a cable 19 that is secured to the end 20 of the boom and is passed over an idler pulley 21. `The boom may also be shortened when it is desired to lessen the effective area of the strips 15 andl. c ,v-Y y ,I

- Although I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that thesame is susceptible of various changes, and I reserve the right to employ such changes as vmay come within the scope of the invention as claimed.

Vlrclaim: Y v. 1. vAn airplane landing field comprising a lighter than air supporting'member, andan air filled member disposed on the first member and having an upper surface designed to support an airplane. Y

2. An airplane landing field `comprising a lighter than air supporting member, and an air filled member disposed on the first member and having an upper surface designed to support an airplane, the top of the second named member being crown-shaped.

3. An airplane landing field lcomprising an air inflated member having an upper surface designed to support an airplane, means for holding the top of the member in a convex shape, and a plurality Aof lighter than air members supporting the air inflated member. 4. An airplane landing field comprising an air inflated member having an upper surface f designed to support an airplane, means for holding the top ofthe member m a convex shape, a plurality of lighter" than air memair inated member, a I

bers supporting the Vnetting for enclosing the lighter than air for supporting-airplanes, said surface having an airplane entrance, a lighter than air supporting member disposed beneath the first member for lifting it, means for causing the field entrance to always face away from the wind, said means comprising aboom pole supported by'y said second-named member, and vane-.like members extend-ing from the boom pole tothe second-named member for causing the field entrance to face away from the l wind.

7. An" airplane landing field*comprisingk an air infiatedimember' having a circulanshaped upper surface Vfor Y supporting airplanes, lighter than air-supporting members disposed 1 beneath the first-named member, anetting enclosing said last-named members and being conical in shape, a cable secured to the apex ofthe netting, means for winding in or unwindng the cable so as to raise or lower the r landing field, a boom pole 'secured to the apex of the netting, and vane-like members secured tothe pole and to the netting.

8. An airplane landing field comprisingan' air inflated member having a circularshaped upper surface for supporting airplanes, lighter than air supporting members disposedbeneath the first-named member, a netting enclosing said last-named members and being conical in shape, a cable secured toftherapex of the netting, means for winding inzor unwinding the cable Vso as to raisel orl lower thev landing field, a boom pole -secured to the apex of the netting, vane-like members secured to the pole and to the netting, said pole being telescopic, and means .for'changing the length of the pole.

9. An airplane landing field comprising an air inflated member having an upper surface for supporting airplanes, said surface having an airplane entrance, a lighter than air supporting member disposed beneath the first member for lifting it, and vane-like members for causing the field entrance to face away from the wind.

HARRY CLAYTON BELLEVILLE. f

members, and a-cablesecuredto'the netting and to an anchoring obj ect..` y

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